Chebanse Township (part 1 of 2)

Chebanse Township

The village of Chebanse was laid out by the railroad company in the center of the northeast quarter of section 14, in 1854. The plat embraced about sixty acres, including the railroad strips, leaving some fifty acres in that quarter on either side of the plat. The business of the company, including the selling of lots, was entrusted to Mr. Seavers, the first station-agent. A. T. Ailing was the second. He now lives at Neoga.

T. D. Williams was the next, and remained here until the breaking out of the war. He was by birth an Englishman. He came to America alone, at the age of fourteen, and soon after enlisted and went to the Mexican war, under Capt. Geo. B. McClellan, and after his return was sent, on that officer's recommendation, to West Point, where he graduated, and then went into private life. He married and came here as the representative of the railroad in the fall of 1857. At the breaking out of the rebellion he felt that his adopted country, which had educated him, was entitled to his service, and he raised Co. G, 25th reg., and marched to the front. Late in 1862 he was promoted to the position of colonel, though he had been acting colonel for some time. It was only a week before the battle of Stone River that he received promotion. He was wounded on the 30th, but would not keep out of battle. On the 31st his color-bearer was shot down, and seizing the fallen standard, thrusting it aloft, like the true Briton he was, shouted for his men to come forward and sustain the old flag. He received a wound from which he died on the 3d of .the following month. His widow went to get his remains, but they had been forwarded before her arrival. She bore his remains east for burial, and while there their only child died. No braver or truer soldier went forth in the dark days than Col. Williams. Had his life been spared there is no doubt of his rapid promotion and great usefulness. His widow still resides here at Chebanse. Mr. Merrill, subsequently the railroad agent here, was killed by being knocked off the cars while switching. While clinging to the side of a car he was carried suddenly against the coal-house, and thrown from his position under the cars. He was followed by William Smith, who was also killed in 1876. He was standing on the cars giving orders. The train had made a "running switch," and the portion of the train which he was on was unexpectedly run into, and he was thrown to the ground.

Harrington & Spaulding were the first merchants. They built a store on the east side of the track in 1854, which was burned in 1858. Amos M. Fishburn built the next store on the same side. It was 14 X 16, and still stands there although several additions have been built to it

Mr. Fishburn preempted a farm on the S.E. ^ of Sec. 15, and sold his store in 1858 to Washington Garlock. Spaulding & Harrington sold to R. J. Hanna, who came here from New York city with his father-in-law, Mr. James Frith, who improved the Dr. Scott land in section 11, just north of town, in 1854. Mr. Hanna was a carpenter, and went to work to build the station and freight-house here. He worked at his trade till he became a " merchant." He also sold his stock to Garlock in 1858, who continued in trade until 1869, when he sold to Bliss Sutherland, who carried on trade a year and then settled on a farm on section 12. Charles Bard came from his farm in the spring of 1857, and commenced the business of shoemaking, which in time grew into mercantile trade. E. W. Dodson opened a store in 1856, and was a deputy county surveyor. He was in trade a year, then went on a farm. He was in the army four years ; returned and was elected county surveyor two or three terms. Jerome Bard came here in 1860, and engaged in buying corn with T. D. Williams.

Joseph Leonard, who succeeded Fishburn in business in the winter of 1858, was a son of Rev. J. H. Leonard, pastor of the Seamen's Bethel in Chicago. In 1860 he built a store south of the others and still on the east side. The railroad company had reserved from the market the two blocks west of the track, where nearly all business houses are now situated supposing that they would some time be compelled to use them to put up repair shops at this point, it being about half way between Chicago and Champaign. Leonard sold to Broadhead & Hanna in 1861, they to E. S. Richmond in 1862, who remained in business here until 1866, and sold to R. S. Laughlin. Richmond went into the agricultural implement trade, then into hay, which was during early times one of the most important business concerns of this part of the country. He afterward went to Texas. Mr. Laughlin continued in trade in the same building on the east side until 1878, having been for more than twelve years interested in the business and public enterprises of the town. Though now retired from business he still resides here.

In 1857 A. M. Baldwin built a store north of the others, and ran it two years, after which he sold out and went to farming. Mr. Hitchcock started the first tin-shop and hardware store, and with the drug store of E. W. Warren, and the shoe-shop of Silas Morehouse, was burned out in the fire of 1858. The first hotel was built on First South street, by George Carter, of Warrington, England. The building still stands there. There was no organized school district until 1860. The first, a subscription school, was held in a small building erected for the purpose southeast of the depot; it was about 14x16. The town- ship was organized and the school land sold for from $5 to $8. At this time a new school-house, 24x36, was built, which has since been enlarged by the addition of three rooms. Four teachers are employed and the school is very efficiently managed by directors A. B. Chase, R. J. McDonald and Martin Grosse. T. D.Williams was the first school treasurer. Hon. Thomas S. Sawyer is the present official.

Mr. Hitchcock, after he was burned out in 1858, built the house known as the " Chebanse House," and occupied it as a tin-shop until 1860. It was then enlarged by Mr. Jackson. Theodore Babcock purchased it in 1864 and improved it, and has kept it as a public house ever since. In 1866 J. G. Yan Ornam built the Yan Hotel and kept it until 1879.

J. H. Way was the first physician, and joined with his practice selling lumber. He continued in both till 1858. The first regular lumber-yard was opened by Mr. Sisson in 1863. He ran the business for a year.

A. M. Wilson and 'Squire Trescott commenced the first meat-market in 1860. Their joint capital was $50, just about enough to buy a good beef, a couple of fat sheep, one " middling sorter " and a veal, and have enough left for change in the drawer. At the end of two months Wilson withdrew himself and his " capital " from the concern and established himself in an extensive grain-buying firm. This left Mr. Trescott to go it alone, and he found that he had his hands full. After six years of faithful service he found that he had sufficient capital to carry on the business of insurance agent, and run for justice of the peace. He has been successful in both. A man of correct judgment and large acquaintance with men, and well posted in regard to the matters which the writer desired information about, at considerable expense of time and study he afforded such information as it would have been impossible otherwise to obtain. That the statements will be found, in the main, to be correct is reasonably expected. Mr. Wilson continued in the grain trade with Mr. Stuart until his death. Joseph Leonard built the first warehouse in ,1860. The True Brothers bought it and moved it north and built the large warehouse. Kenaga & Knott got possession of it and built a large dry-house. While drying grain it took fire and was burned in 1876. Messrs. Brown & Huckins engaged in the grain trade. They sold their business to F. J. Taylor. G. P. and C. H. Comstock built the warehouse on the county line in 1867, and sold it to Taylor and engaged in business at Ashkum, where they still are. In 1873 Taylor sold this business to James Capon and retired to his farm. Mr. Chase entered into business with Capon, and the trade is now carried on here and at Donovan by Capon & Co.

Six brothers, named Grosse, came here about 1865, four of whom have proved successful merchants. John had a small store on the east side, and afterward moved to the west side. In 1873 he sold to H. d and Frank, and went to Texas. He returned the next spring and died, leaving a considerable property. H. C. and Frank Grosse continued a successful business here until 1878, when they exchanged their store for a farm, with Hon. G. "W. Parker. He closed out the stock and went to Kansas City. Martin, another brother, went on a farm, and Henry, as before stated, is engaged in mercantile trade in Chicago. Dr. J. D. DeVeling engaged in the practice of his profession, and in the drug trade, about 1863. He had previously been at Sugar Island, where was the only mill in this part of the country, and where a town had been laid out. He has one of the best stores in town.

In 1863 E. W. Warren commenced the hay business. The demands of the war were such that these vast prairies along the Central railroad, which offered such good facilities for transportation, were cut off each year. There was no end for the demand down in Dixie, and there was seemingly no end to the supply, except the lack of help to get it cut, stacked and pressed. Did any one ever estimate the number of additional men which would have been required to secure the hay crops of 1862-3-4, if the recently perfected mowing machines had been brought into use only a few years later ? George Wells also engaged in the same trade. When the rebellion subsided in 1865, great rows of stacks, together with the presses and barns along the line, were burned. It h#s continued to be a considerable business until 1876, since which time the market price has been so low that the trade has been nearly abandoned.

With the close of the war the rush of immigration turned this way ; the farms which had long been in grass were plowed ; new owners and new renters appeared in great numbers. The following year, when the railroad company decided to sell the two blocks which they had withheld, business began to collect on the west side. Soon after this Mr. Milk laid out his addition to town, and built the large " combination store." This was enough to draw business in this direction. The school-house was built by James Jacqueth. Andrew Jackson, who was one of the earliest carpenters here, has built a large number of the buildings. He built the Chebanse House, the Brown House, which was intended for stores below, and offices and hall above, and many of the residences. S. Parker did considerable building.

The Chebanse Water Works Company was organized under the law of the state for joint-stock corporations, August 21, 1874. The certificate bears the names of Lemuel Milk, James Porch and F. T. McKee as corporators. The object was to furnish water for domestic, fire and general purposes, by a plan, so far as is known to this writer, not adopted in any other place in this artesian region. The well was bored 120 feet deep, twenty of which was through solid rock, when artesian water was reached which rises to within twenty feet of the surface. A stone tower was erected, thirty-six feet high, which is twenty feet in diameter at the ground, and has on it a reservoir of 1,000 barrels capacity. This is surmounted by a wind-mill which pumps the water to the reservoir ; from this mains are laid through streets, and from them hydrants are erected, and pipes lead into the houses. Families are charged $6 per year, and the village has paid $250 per annum for public and fire uses. This last charge has been now reduced to $100 per annum. It has proved a perfect success.

The fire company is supplied with 400 feet of hose, a pump, and hooks and ladders. J. D. Kelley is foreman ; Philip Bauer, chief; W. J. Hunter, first assistant foreman. There are eighteen members. E. L. Wright is president ; Richard Eyrley, secretary.

H. D. Dement & Co., of Dixon, built the flax-mill in 1870. The mill works up the flax straw which is raised in this vicinity into tow for bagging. It has been in charge of John Soloman, as superintendent, ever since it has been in operation.

Churches, Societies, Etc

The earliest days of Methodism at Chebanse have no records here except in the memories of a very few. They seem to have acted upon the view that the book was kept open in another sphere, which record the present writer has no doubt has been properly kept. Unfortunately, however, it is not in a library to which he has had access. Mr, Andrew Motter, a worthy father in the church, came here and preempted a farm in the northeast quarter of section 17, in 1855. The religious destitution surrounding called him into active service, and knowing that he had a call to preach he used to assemble the people in the depot building, or at such other places as he could find, and there preach the gospel. He is spoken of as a sincere and earnest man, who never lost an opportunity to do good. He was called home to his reward in 1862. Timothy Young, who came from New York to a farm on Langham creek about the same time, found that he was needed in the ministry, and commenced to preach as a local preacher. He afterward- left his farm and took appointments in the itinerant work. This must have been about 1860 and 1861. There were two or three other supplies before Rev. H. A. Hobbs was appointed to this charge by conference, which was in 1863. During this time George

Kogers was class-leader. Kev. A. G. Goodspeed, now located at Odell, was appointed to this work in 1866, and remained here two years, during which time, by his earnest personal labors, the fine church was built here and the infant church organization at Clifton was greatly strengthened. A subscription had been started by his predecessor. Mr. Goodspeed failed to raise the money to purchase material, but went to Chicago and bought the lumber, on three-months time, of an entire stranger, upon his own personal pledge of payment. He secured a reduction in freight, and hired Charles Martin to superintend the work, which was all done by the day. The building in this way was put up at a cost of $2,775, including all the furniture required, and bible, which was considerably less than any contract offered. It is needless to say, of course, that the people of Chebanse responded willingly, so that Mr. Goodspeed's pledge was made good without any inconvenience to him. The building is 32x55. The lot was donated by the railroad company. C. E. Howe is the present pastor. The other preaching points are at Leggett's and Warren's school-houses. The present membership is sixty. The parsonage was built about 1863. The Sabbath school is under the superintendency of Mr. Chapman.

The preliminary meeting, looking to the organization of the Baptist church, was held at the house of H. P. Havens, June 13, 1866. At a subsequent meeting, held at the house of Mr. Tyler, the following were present and signified their desire to unite and form a church : H. P. Havens and wife, their two sons, Reuben and Elisha, and their wives ; William P. Gardner and wife, Mr. Evarts and wife, J. W. Baker and wife, J. J. Tyler and wife, Mariah Tuttle and Hannah Calhoun. Rev. J. M. Whitehead, of Kankakee, was present, and it was resolved to meet July 5 to perfect the organization, and the churches at Onarga and Kankakee were invited to sit in council at that time. Upon the day named the meeting was held, and after articles of Christian belief were submitted and adopted the meeting adjourned to the school-house, where council was duly formed. There were present several delegates from the church at Kankakee, the Rev. D. W. Morgan from Onarga, and the Rev. R. Gilbert from Antioch. The new church was duly recognized and the following services were held : Sermon, by Rev. Mr. Gilbert ; charge to the church, by Rev. Mr. Morgan ; right hand of fellowship, by Rev. Mr. Whitehead. Lots were donated by the railroad company, and a committee was appointed to collect means to build the church. Rev. G. W. Lewis was the first pastor. He preached each alternate Sabbath for one year. The church was built in 1867 and 1868. Messrs. Tyler, Baker and ^Gardner were trustees, and together with

Mr. Huckins, comprised the building committee. The church is 36x60, and cost about $3,000. Rev. A. H. Esty was called as pastor in 1871. Rev. Mr. Wilderrnan succeeded him, and elders Palmer and S. M. Brown have also in turn served the church. The present membership is thirty-five. The Sabbath school has been maintained in the summer. Reuben Havens is superintendent. The membership is about seventy.

Those contemplating the organization of the Congregational church met at the house of R. S. Laughlin, Esq., September 6, 1868. Mr. Laughlin acted as chairman, and H. C. Wycoff as secretary. A council was called to meet October 27, at which time the following delegates from sister churches were present : Rev. Mr. Brundage, of Paxton ; Rev. Mr. Watson, of Loda ; Rev. Mr. Beecher, of Kankakee ; Rev. Mr. Wycoff. of Monee ; and brothers Lyons, of Clifton, and Brown, of Pilot. Rev. Mr. Brundage was appointed to preach the sermon, and Mr. Beecher to extend the right hand of fellowship. The church was then organized with the following members : R. S. Laughlin, D. Roadifer, W. O. Roadifer, M. Elliott, H. G. Wycoff, Samuel Kingsbury, S. Robinson, Rhoda Roadifer, Lavina Kingsbury, Emily Laughlin, Harriet Laughlin, Helen Roadifer. Martha Elliott, Mary S. Robinson and Martha Burroughs. December 10 the following officers were elected : R. S. Laughlin, D. Roadifer and S. Robinson, trustees ; M. Elliott and W. O. Roadifer, deacons; H. G. Wycoff, clerk and treasurer. Rev. Daniel R. Miller served as pastor one year from December 1, 1868. The congregation worshiped half a year in Porch's Hall, then one year in the Baptist Church, and for a few months in the Methodist Church. A. J. Ford, D. Roadifer, James Flemming, J. M. Burroughs and F. J. Taylor were appointed a building committee. They purchased a lot and proceeded to build the church, 32x45, which is well seated and neatly furnished, at a cost of $2,400. Rev. George F. Chipperfield, of the seminary, commenced his labors here April 1, 1878, and continues to preach alternately here and at Clifton. Mrs. Burroughs is clerk of the church. The membership is 43. The church was dedicated in August, 1872, free of debt. The Sabbath school numbered sixty-four when organized. Mr. Rowell is superintendent.

The earliest services of the Catholics here were held in the house of William O'Rourk. Father Pernin had charge of the mission, though before him Father Yanderpool, who was the resident priest at L'Erable, said Mass here occasionally. The church (St. Mary and Joseph) was built in 1867 or 1868, while Father Pernin was here. It is 32x60, with cupola and bell, and cost $2,500. Father Schroudenbach was the first resident priest in 1870, for one year. 'After him Father Kukan- buch served the church here for two years, and since that Father Gonant for seven years. The church at Clifton is also under the charge of the same clergyman. The parsonage was built in 1873 at a cost of $1,300. There are about one hundred families within the bounds of this charge, who attend divine worship here, and a more numerous congregation at Clifton. The members of this church organized, April 7, 1878, the Chebanse Father Mathew Total Abstinence Society : Father Gonant, president; Frank Hennessy, vice-president; John Mahoney, second vice-president; Patrick Murphy, secretary; William Burke, treasurer. The society numbers sixty members, and has recently established a library. It is in efficient working order, and is accomplishing much good.

Town Incorporation

Chebanse was incorporated as a town under the old law in 1868. July 9 a meeting was held, at which Robert Nation presided, and G. W. Binford was clerk, for the purpose of voting for or against incorporation, at which election the vote stood 15 to 7 in favor of incorporating. The election for five trustees took place July 17, at which S. A. Robinson, H. Huckins, Robert Nation, R. S. Laughlin and James Robinson were elected. S. A. Robinson was- chosen president ; and T. S. Sawyer, clerk ; P. W. Tracey, constable ; T. Babcock, street commissioner. The town received a special charter, March 13, 1869. May 13, 1874, a petition was presented to the board to call an election to vote for or against reorganization as a village under the general act of 1872. The election was held May 29, and resulted in favor of such reorganization by a vote of 32 to 28. The present officers are : L. A.

Kinney, president ; E. W. Brown, Patrick Murphy, H. Huckins, Jerome Bard and J. P. Schofield, trustees; Peter E. Hall, clerk; Martin Grosse, assessor; James Porch, treasurer; J. D. DeVeling, police magistrate. The village has always granted license, at the rate of $300 per annum. The following have been postmasters : Mr. Seavers, Amos M. Fishburn, Mr. Hitchcock, Mary Linsey, T. D. Williams, L. A. Bristol, A. M. Wilson, Joseph Leonard, R. J. Hanna, E. S. Richmond and W. J. Hunter. The office was made a money-order office in 1879.

Thomas S. Sawyer commenced the publication of the Chebanse " Herald " in the fall of 1868, which has been continued without interruption from that time under his management. It was the aim of the publisher to make a paper of local interest, independent in politics, and this was its course until the " Liberal " was started as an exponent of the views of liberal republicanism in 1872, when the " Herald " became republican under the force of circumstances. This " change in front in the face of the enemy " caused the nomination of its editor and his election to the legislature, where he made a record for himself of which any young man might well be proud. The assembly which met January 1, 1873, had before it the important work of revising the laws of the state, and bringing into one volume the legislation of a quarter of a century and make it conform to the provisions of the constitution then recently gone into effect. Mr. Sawyer, as a member of the committees on judiciary, judicial department and on banks and banking, took an important part in that revision. Every statute in that book had to pass the scrutiny of the judiciary committee, and by constant attention to the duties of a representative, he assisted largely in perfecting the statutes of our state. W. W. Gibson started the " Liberal " in 1872. In 1873 it passed into the hands of Dr. J. D. DeVeling, who conducted it as a forcible and consistent advocate of the views of the independent and national greenback party. Though fairly successful as a local newspaper, and meeting with good patronage both from its party friends and others, its publication was discontinued in 1879.

Milk's addition to Chebanse was laid out in 1868, and is in Kankakee county, the county line dividing it from the original town. He built a large building, the lower part of which is occupied by his combination store, and the upper portion for a h6tel. The store, like all the various enterprises of Mr. Milk, is characteristic of the business activity of the man. Most men with fifty farms, a few thousand cattle, sheep and hogs to occupy his time and attention, would feel satisfied with one store to look after, but here he has four to divide his spare hours among. If Satan only has a contract for supplying work for idle hands, there is not much danger that he will ever have to take Mr. Milk under supervision.

"Bespeak, blessed Clifton! thy sublime domain, Here lonely wandering o'er the sylvan bower, I come to pass the meditative hour; To bid awhile the strife of passion cease, And woo the calms of solitude and peace. Fair Nature! thee, in all thy varied charms, Fain would I clasp forever in my arms ! Thine are the sweets which never, never sate, Thine still remain through all the storms of fate. Though not for me, 'twas heaven's divine command To roll in acres of paternal land; Yet still my lot is blessed, while I enjoy Thine opening beauties with a lover's eye.

Clifton is situated on section 3, township 28, range 14 ; is sixtynine miles from Chicago, and about five southwest of Chebanse. This section was not railroad land and there was not at first a disposition on the part of the company to make a station here. The first comers here were principally from New England, and were men of education and plenty of theories, but very little practical knowledge of western settlement. The site was a delightful one and the country back of it was excellent. In the summer of 1855 W. B. Young, L. A. White, J. C. and C. O. Howe came from Worcester, Massachusetts, and commenced making farms in this vicinity. C. O. Howe settled where Yan Duzor now lives, and his brother just north of there. Patrick and Mary Conaway had a shanty made of fence-boards at a point about one mile north, and this came to be known as Howe's Port, or Howe's Landing. As it was not a station on the road there was no regular name for it. The next year P. E. Kingman, C. H. French and Capt. Lincoln came from Boston and entered land, or bought it from the railroad, and commenced farming. In 1857 T. W. Howe and H. K. White, and the father of Clifton, Mr. William A. Viets, came. Mr. "Viets was born on the Berkshire hills, made famous by the little incident of William Willis, when he was taunted into mustering up courage to kiss Susanah Pease, and then, as his courage oozed out, trying to place the blame on the girl herself. He was engaged in business in Chicago and believed that here was a good place for a town. He was boarding at the Clifton House at that time, and that incident furnished the name for the place, not, as he says, because it was any more appropriate than Howe's Landing, but the name sounded smoother at least. Mr. Yiets, after some management, succeeded in getting the title to the land perfected, and laid out his town, covering about 80 acres on both sides of the railroad, and commenced selling lots in 1858. Previous to this time passengers wishing to stop here were permitted to, and once a week freight was sent here, but only on the pledge that it should be unloaded from the cars with as little delay to the train as possible. A switch was put in this year and a post-office was established. J. B. Duclos, a Frenchman, built a store on the corner south of the hotel, and was appointed postmaster. Previous to this the house now owned by Mr. Sheldon was built, and in fact a number of the farm houses around but that* long known as the Davis House was the first.

John Barland soon after put up a store next to the one Duclos had built, but both were burned two years later. Mr. Yiets built a blacksmith shop to start with, knowing that no well-regulated town could get along without one, and built the house he still resides in, and, with a determination to do well whatever he did, built the house well back from the road, put a good cellar under it, and made it as convenient as possible, and set out trees on his own and railroad land. The fine maple grove which is growing along the railroad was of his planting. He at one time was ordered to remove them, but before proceeding to obey the order he expostulated with the company and the order was countermanded, after they became satisfied that he did not intend to steal the railroad.

Isaac Yan Duzor came here from Orange county, ]STew York, and built the Clifton House in 1858, which he kept for fourteen years. He also built the store east of the hotel. When it was done he went to Chicago looking for some clever fellow who would trust him for goods enough to fill it. He found his man, and bought his first bill of $2,800 worth, entirely on credit, of perfect strangers. The hotel business was thriving and mercantile business booming. He afterward built the agricultural Jwarerooms, and kept that trade also. Mr. A. S. White now has the hotel and it is still one of the nicest public houses on the line of this road. H. K. White was the first to engage in the grain trade. He was prominent in advancing the interests of the place, and served the town as supervisor and in other official capacities. He died in 1865.

George H. Spooner came here quite early and engaged in housebuilding. He was an educated man and took a great deal of interest in public affairs. He sold out here and intended to go to South America, where he had an advantageous offer. He went east to make a short visit, and returning, went down in the terrible disaster at Ashtabula.

Several additions to the town have been platted. In 1869, Howe's addition of nearly 100 acres on the north was laid out, and in 1873, Viets' addition on the east, about 50 acres. The cemetery was laid out in 1861. The interest of Howe and Kingman, who are both residing at Hyde Park now, and in business in Chicago, on the west side, had the usual effect of such divided interests. Business was on the east side, the church on the west, and it was thought that, for that reason, probably, the school-house ought to be there also. In building the school-house it was put up close by the switch, and with the growth of the town a new one was beginning to be demanded. In this juncture the west-side folks got the district divided, but unfortunately for them the east side continued to be the old district, and as such was the legal owner of the house. The new district got it fixed up for beginning their school, put an extra board on the steps, puttied the windows, plastered the patches, etc., and in the still hours of the night, when all J;he west-side mothers were just thanking their stars that the next day they would get some peace at home, for the children would be in school, the Yandals and the Goths of the east side sallied forth and moved the school-house across the track, and what they took by night they held by right, and the new district put their names down on the assessor's book for a new one. Two two-story school-houses, each about 28x40, afford sufficient room for the schools, and each is surrounded by ample and beautiful grounds.

There is a very pleasant park on the east side. The block some years ago came into possession of Mr. Louther, who beautified and added to its already shady improvements, and when Mr. Ferris took it into his paternal head to name his new-born son in honor of the distinguished gentleman who owned the beautiful block, Mr. Louther, to return the compliment, gave the park to the lad. There is so much of the spirit of devotion to utility only, among the people of our western towns, that it is a real pleasure to note, - right in the middle of a busy little town like this, where the attention of every one seems engrossed with trade, or the current price of hogs ; where the first question asked when neighbors meet, is, " Got your corn shucked? " or, " How 's hogs?" - a real pleasure to find a spot, like an island in the waste, where some one has had an eye to the beautiful simply, not even selfish comfort adorned, but adorning being the chief object ; where, as long as this generation lives, the thoughts of those even who pass by, as the writer did in a minute's walk, will be turned toward the beautiful in nature, and thank the liberal soul who has bestowed a public pleasure.

making of these he indirectly aided to drain those parts of the land which were believed to be too wet for cultivation. He also secured the establishment of a post-route through Clifton, from Plato on the east, to Sugar Loaf, Saunemin, Pontiac and Minonk, upon which were nearly a dozen country offices, which had not before this been supplied with mail facilities. Many of those who commenced business enterprises here early lost in business and disappeared. Smith & Gage have done a large and lucrative business for some years. C. W. Smith, the head of the firm during ten years of changes in the personnel of the firm, is a thorough and accomplished business man, 'and by thorough attention to business has commanded a profitable trade. Mr. La Motte, of L'Erable, has done a good business here for two years. Ellis Moore has been doing a large trade here for two years. Dr. Marshall has been in the practice of his profession here ever since he returned from the army, and most of the time has carried on the drug business. Mr. Yiets, Dr. Marshal, Rev. Mr. Brown, S. P. Walton and others, have nice residences. One of those " survey towers," which have caused so much comment and wonder as to their real object, is erected on the farm of A. B. Cummings. It is made of massive timbers set in the ground about thirty feet apart at the base, and slanting toward each other until, at the height of eighty feet, they are about twelve feet apart. On the top is a signal, so arranged that it can be seen with a glass from the top of the next tower, which is some fifteen miles away. The real object did not seem to be known, except that in a general wa}7 they were for surveying this portion of the state, and numerous were the suppositions in regard to them. The real object is to survey accurately an arc of the earth's circumference, and this region was selected on account of the long stretch of open level country extending from Chicago to the Ohio & Mississippi railroad. The exact position of Chicago had been determined by the very accurate lake survey, which had been in progress for years, and from that city south over the Grand Prairie seemed to be the place to learn by triangulation, - the only accurate system of survey, - the exact length of an arc of the earth's surface, and estimate from that the diameter of the earth, the distance and size of the planet Yenus and other heavenly bodies. All this is done by triangles,, only one short side of the first triangle at Chicago being actually measured by chain.

Village Organization

An election was held June 17, 1867, to vote for or against incorporating under the general act of 1845, which resulted in a vote of thirty-seven for and twenty-six against incorporating. June 29 the first election was held and the following trustees were elected : C. O. Howe, S. B. Walton, L. J. Millspaugh, A. B. Cummings and F. Cazeau. For police magistrate the vote was a tie between G. H. Spooner and H. Sanderson. The former was successful in casting lots. Mr. Millspaugh was chosen president ; S. B. "Walton, clerk ; C. O. Howe, treasurer. The limits were fixed to take in the entire section. In 1874 the town reorganized under the general act of 1872. License has been granted each year but one. At the election that year five of the candidates were tied by receiving an equal number of votes, and the temperance candidates drew the "long straws." The present officers are : R. F. Cummings, president ; John Colby, John Hettinger, S. R. Beardslee, L. G. Bergeron and Jacob Gregorson, trustees ; C. D. Roberts, constable; A. B. Cummings, police magistrate; Thomas Wyke, street commissioner; H. J. Swim, clerk.

The early citizens at Clifton were principally from New England, and coming here did not leave their religious and denominational preferences behind them. Among their first organized efforts was the forming of a Congregational church, or rather in the building of the church edifice, in which the}7 were seconded by Mr. J. C. Howe, of Boston. A preliminary meeting was held November 26, 1859, at which Rev. M. E. Tenny, of the home missionary field, was present, and Rev. Mr. Gould, of Loda. The following persons then agreed to form a church : W. A. Viets and wife, Pliny E. Kingman and wife, Isaac Van Duzor and wife, Charles O. Howe and wife, Jabez C. Howe and wife, Martha B. Taft, Demoresta Walker, C. A. Yiets and Patty Goodhue. At a meeting held January 8, 1860, at which P. E. Kingman was moderator, and C. O. Howe, clerk, the organization was perfected by the election of W. A. Viets and C. O. Howe deacons for a term of three years. Mr. Gould preached for awhile, usually in the hotel, and Rev. Mr. Chipperfield, a student in the seminary has preached since 1877. The present membership is twenty-five. The church, which is 32x55, was built soon after the regular organization. The lot and all material for the building was the donation of Jabez C. Howe, of Boston. The first draft of $500 which he sent on, having been lost by the failure of the person to whom it was entrusted, was replaced by Mr. Howe as soon as the fact was brought to his attention. The Sabbath school has been kept up nearly all the time. A bible class was in the habit of meeting at the hotel before the church was formed.

Starkej, and Mrs. A. Sellers, instituted a prayer meeting and formed themselves into a society for worship. About this time Rev. Mr. Lokey, of Spring Creek circuit, volunteered to preach for them once a month. In 1864 the society was for the first time officially included in that circuit, and Rev. T. J. "W. Sullivan, was pastor in charge.

George Millspaugh was then the class-leader, and seems to have been so at the formation of the class. Rev. A. G. Goodspeed, now of Odell, was the next preacher, coming in 1866 for two years. At this time Mr. S. R. Beardslee was appointed class-leader, a position he still holds. Rev. F. H. Brown, of the Rock River conference, located here and preached for two years. He was not only a man of great fervor, full of religious zeal, but also a man of good business capabilities, and upon him devolved the labor of building the fine church edifice which this people have. It is 34x56, two stories high, and though yet unfinished internally, presents a very pleasant appearance. It has cost thus far $2,800. The present pastor is Rev. J. P. Forsythe. The present membership is sixty. The Sabbath school was organized in 1867, with Thomas Barham as superintendent. S. R. Beardslee is the present superintendent.

The Roman Catholics have a very neat and tasty church, which was built in 1867, 30x50, and cost $3,000. The earliest services held here were in the house of James McGovern, by the resident priest at L'Erable, in 1862. Services were sometimes held in the warehouse. The resident priest at Chebanse officiates here. About 150 families worship here.

Biographical

Humphrey Huckins, stock -dealer, Chebanse, is one of the pioneers of this county, he coming here in 1839, and his wife's family in 1841. They relate numerous anecdotes of the trials and tribulations incident to a pioneer life. Neighbors were scarce and at . very great distances apart. Danville was the nearest point accessible for marketing. An Indian would now and then be seen, all peaceable, but they soon disappeared after the settlers began to come in. Prairie wolves were abundant, and many a sheep fell a prey to their ravenous appetites. When the railroad was being built they boarded the hands, as no other place at a reasonable distance could be obtained, and it was actually forced upon them. Mr. Huckins carried the hands' dinner, as they progressed, for a distance of several miles. An ordinary coffee-mill was brought into requisition for the purpose of grinding their meal, and hundreds of other modes of " roughing it " they were compelled to go through. Men and women of to-day may talk of hard times, but they know absolutely nothing of hard times in comparison to these hardy sons of toil, - the early pioneers of forty and fifty years ago. Mr. Huckins was born in Clark county, Ohio, April 8, 1819, residing there till 1839, following the occupation of farming. He removed to Butler's Point, Yermilion county, this state, remaining two years. He then came to Iroquois county, settling near the mouth of Spring creek. His father entered some 200 acres and Mr. Huckins 40, adding until he had accumulated some 200 acres. He sold out and went to Kankakee county, living ten years, and then came to Chebanse in about 1869, where he has since resided. He was married on January 12, 1843, to Miss Sarah Boyd, who was born in Maryland on June 12, 1824. They have four children : Guy ; Carrie, wife of M. A. Swift, of Terre Haute, Indiana ; Mary, wife of E. G. Fish, of Fisher, Champaign county, Illinois; and Frank. Mr. Huckins, like all other old residents, has held all the offices a country town is " heir " to.

Humphrey Hennessy (deceased) was born in the county of Cork, Ireland, in 1815, and at the age of thirty-five came to America, working as a farm hand in the state of New York for three years. November 1, 1853, he was married to Miss Margaret Gleason, and immediately set sail by canal and the lakes for the Great Northwest. Somewhere on the, route he met Col. Howard, who engaged and brought them, by way of Joliet, to work on a farm at Milk's Grove, Chebanse township, in this county. Mrs. Hennessy did the housework for a large number of hands for nearly three years. While at the Grove they had born unto them one son, Franklin J., who is said to have been the first white male child born at the Grove, at least after its settlement by the whites. The Hennessys, being noted for their industry and economy, soon became the owners of a farm near Sugar Island, on the banks of the Iroquois'river, where Mr. Hennessy died on July 29, 1870. He, during life, was always greatly interested in the education of his children, and in schools and public improvements. To those he liked he was an ardent and warm friend ; but he held no intercourse with those he did not like. While living in New York state he became a whig on principle, and when the republican party came into existence he attached himself to that faith, and on no account would he vote any other ticket. In religious views Mr. Hennessy and family were Catholics. Mrs. Hennessy, with her youngest son, who manages the farm, still resides upon the old homestead ; while her son, Franklin J., is in the employ of Lemuel Milk, Esq., Chebanse, in his general merchandise establishment, which position, by his general good conduct, he has held for the past six years. Franklin was born July 29, 1854, and John on October 29, 1857, at his present place of abode.

Peter Enos (deceased), another shining light of this township, has gone the way of all flesh. He was born in Cayuga county, New York, on the 24th of March, 1826, and was the son of Jonathan and Cynthia (Howard) Enos, who raised a family of eleven children, seven sons and four daughters. Mr. Enos left New York at the age of ten years (1836) with his parents, and settled in Michigan, where he remained on a farm till the age of twenty-eight. He removed to Kankakee about 1853, and about 1855 or 1856 came to Chebanse township and preempted 160 acres of land, purchasing the same when it came into market. He has since added forty acres to his farm, and in 1876 he built a handsome residence, where his widow still resides in peace and quietude. Mr. E. left two other fine farms, which he had accumulated by industry and economy, besides considerable personal property, having dealt in stock to a great extent. The farm where his wife resides is one of the finest in the township, having an elegant new frame building, surrounded with shrubbery and a dense grove of evergreens; also fine out-houses, etc. He was one of the most thorough and energetic farmers in the county. An upright, generous, whole-souled man, a friend of the oppressed, he was loved by all who came in contact with him. His word was as good as his bond. He had no enemies, and none knew him but to admire, and spoke of him but to praise. He was a member of no sect or society ; took no particular interest in politics, but was of the republican faith. He died of consumption, January 28, 1880. He went south during the summer of 1879, came home, and died in Kankakee at his brother's residence, eleven days afterward, leaving a loving wife to mourn his untimely end. When the gold fever broke out his ambition was at once fired, and with his team he started for Pike's Peak, and from there he went to California. He was married January 19, 1865, to Miss Mary E. Luce, who was born on Long Island, January 4, 1843.

Joseph Haigh, farmer, Chebanse, deserves something more than a passing notice at our hands. He was born March 25, 1824, in Yorkshire, England. Until twenty-six years of age he was engaged in the manufacture of cloth, when, in 1851, he came to America, settling in Philadelphia, and started in the business of manufacturing cotton cloth. Leaving there in the spring of 1855, he went to Chicago and improved a forty-acre tract of land for a personal friend, and in the month of July of the same year he came to Chebanse, settling on the farm where he now resides, within a mile of the village of Chebanse. He has at present nearly 160 acres, with very neat and pleasant residence, commodious out-buildings, good fences, etc., which has a commanding view of the village and its surroundings. He has followed the occupation of farming and stock-raising, but for the past ten years has led a more retired life. He being a man of great literary attainments, he has devoted a great deal of his leisure moments to writing for publications, both editorial and poetical. September 3, 1855, he started on foot, after sunrise, for Danville, a distance of seventy-five miles, making sixty-three miles tlie first day. His mission was for the purpose of entering his land, the land office being then located at Danville. He was school treasurer for seven years, and many a time has he walked to Watseka for the purpose of transacting business in connection with his office and otherwise. He was the first town clerk elected, holding the same some seven or eight years. On two occasions he and Robert Nation, Esq., visited Camp Butler, at Springfield, with their pockets full of money, for the purpose of paying town bounties to soldiers who enlisted on behalf of Chebanse township, its quota being double what it should have been. He was married, April 6, 1861, in this place, to Miss Mary A. McGrady. She was born in Canada, August 24, 1834. They have an only child, John Freeman. Mr. Haigh belongs to no denomination or society, and is looked upon as a representative man by all who know him best.

Joseph Vander Poorten, farmer, Clifton, was born in the province of Flanders, Belgium, February 16, 1828. He was reared on a farm, and received a good common-school education. At the age of twentyseven he emigrated to America, residing one year in Lewis county, New York, and in April, 1856, he came to this township. He purchased 80 acres of land, and has since added 120 more, and in 1877 he built himself a very commodious and comfortable residence, where he still resides. He was married in L'Erable, January 15, 1861, to Miss Auralia Bunker, who was born in Chambly, on the Sorel river, Canada, April 12, 1840. They have been made the happy parents of nine interesting children, six living : Emily, Delphine, Eugene, Walter, Norbert and Stephen; the deceased were: Emma, Edwin and Addie. Mr. Yander Poorten has held the position of commissioner of highways, and been school director ever since 1864. By perseverance, industry and hard labor, he has had the satisfaction of accumulating a nice property. He embraces the Catholic faith ; and in politics votes for the man who, in his opinion, is the ablest and most desirable.

F. Fronville, farmer, Clifton, was born in BonnefF, Belgium, April 12, 1838. His parents were Joseph and Catherine (Thiry) Fronville. He came with his parents to this country in 1856, stopping three months in Chicago. He then came to Iroquois, residing there three years; thence to Kansas for six months. Returning again to this township he worked here and there, wherever he could obtain work. In

1861 he bought 40 acres, and has since erected a nice residence, and has devoted his energies to farming. He was married, March 3, 1862, to Miss Rosalie Ponton, who was born in Canada, September 29, 1842. They have eight children : Rosa, Mary L., Mary A., Eugene, Melina L., Emile A., Amelia F. and Louis J. ; and one deceased. Mr. Fronville's father still resides with him, at the good old age of seventy-three years. Mr. Fronville has been school director two years. He had one brother (Louis) killed in the late war.

E. W. Dodson, farmer, Chebanse, was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, on July 3, 1830. His parents were Stephen B. and Flavia (Cobbs) Dobson, both natives of the same county. Mr. Dobson was raised as a farmer, but taught school, clerked, etc., part of the time. In 1854 he moved to Cook county, Illinois, teaching school that winter. In 1855 he came to Kankakee county, and in 1856 to Iroquois county. He has followed surveying to some extent. In August, 1861, he enlisted in the 10th 111. Inf., and reenlisted in January, 1864. He participated in the battles of the siege of Corinth, Atlanta, New Madrid, Lookout Mountain, Jonesboro, Sherman's march to the sea, back through the Carolinas, and at Bentonville, North Carolina, - Sherman's last fight. He then went to Washington and participated in the grand review May 25 ; was mustered out July 4, at Louisville, Kentucky, and was paid oif in Chicago on the 12th, and returned home. In 1865 he was elected county surveyor, and reflected in 1867. He also held other minor offices. He has under cultivation 120 acres. He is a member of no denomination, and is an active republican. He was married, November 29, 1877, to Miss Martha E. Babcock, who was born in Charleston, Massachusetts, December 27, 1840.

James M. Burroughs, Chebanse, was among the early settlers in this vicinity, and we devote space to his biography with considerable pleasure. He was born in Alstead, New Hampshire, April 16, 1812, and was a resident of that immediate locality for some forty-five years. He was raised as a farmer lad, but served his time at the carpenter's trade, following the same in connection with farming till about 1856, at which time he moved west and settled in Sugar Island, this county, having preempted 160 acres. He soon added another 40, and farmed for some ten years. For two years he kept store, with Dr. Buckner as a partner. In March, 1869, he moved to the village of Chebanse, purchased a large lot and built himself a house. He followed his trade for six years, and was in the furniture business for three years. He built the school-house, Congregational church and was engaged on the Methodist, and on every hand can be seen evidences of his handiwork, both in the town and country. He has been a member of the town council, school director and town trustee. Mrs. Burroughs is an honored member of the Congregational church. He was married in Bloomington, April 2, 1858, to Martha A. Ransdell, who was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, December 25, 1826. They have two children : Fred M. and Burt E., both born in Sugar Island. Mrs. Burroughs has one child, deceased (Anna Ransdell), who was the wife of Edwin B. Tyler. She died December 29, 1872. Mrs. Burrough's wedding tour was of the most primitive nature, and our fair damsels of to-day would scarce embark on the sea of matrimony, knowing that their wedding trip was to be in a lumber wagon, mounted on their " Saratoga," and that their " best bib and tucker " had to be protected from the rain by the friendly shelter of a sheepskin, lovingly thrown around her by her sworn protector. Her reception room was furnished with an old rag carpet, bedstead, a chair or two, and an old rusty cook-stove took the place of a " base-burner."

Francis W. Howe, farmer, Clifton, an old settler and a well-to-do farmer, was born in Brookfield, Massachusetts, December 18, 1819. He lived with his parents until twenty years of age, and then went to New York city, going into the wholesale dry-goods business, in which he remained till 1857. In the fall of 1857 he moved west, settling in Clifton, this township, where he has continued to remain. C. O. Howe and brothers bought 4,000 acres of land here, of the Illinois Central Railroad Company and Solomon Sturgis, of Chicago, in or about 1855. Mr. Howe came two years later and took up 120 acres. He was married, January 8, 1845, to Miss Sarah S. Cowdrey, of New York city. She died February 16, 1866, in her forty-second year. He was again married, October 3, 1867, to the widow of the late H. K. White, a well known and respected citizen of Clifton. She was born April 18, 1830. He has six children by first marriage : Helena C., wife of Edward S. Perry, of New Haven, Connecticut; Arthur L., Walter M., Oscar C., William F. and Isabel A. Josephine D. Howe died in New York, August 17, 1853. Mr. Howe has a cozy residence on the outskirts of the village of Clifton, with large and beautiful grounds surrounding it, uniformly laid out with shade trees, and it is just such a home as any one might well covet.

J. P. H. Trescott, justice of the peace, Chebanse, was born in Luzerne county, Huntington township, Pennsylvania, September 30, 1825. His father, Luther, was born in Canaan, Connecticut, and his mother, Eleanor (Parke), was raised in New Jersey, - both being of Quaker parentage. The father died in the winter of 1878, and the mother in February, 1864. Mr. Trescott was reared on a farm, and lived in his native township until 1857, when he removed to this vil- lage, arriving here March 28. While in Luzerne county he farmed during the summer and taught school during the winter. He also followed farming in this township for three years, and teaching school through the winter seasons, receiving $22 a month and board. The times being very hard he considered himself extremely lucky to obtain employment at almost any remuneration. After three years of ill health, and his doctor's bills being so high, he was obliged to quit farming. He moved to the village of Chebanse, May 1, 1860, and on September 1 he formed a partnership with Amos M. Wilson, with a combined capital of $40, and opened a butcher shop, and two months thereafter he bought out his partner and continued the business until 1867, in connection with farming, teaching, etc. In April, 1862, he was elected justice of the peace, and has continuously held the office up to the present time. Mr. Trescott was married to Miss Sallie A. Dodson, September 22, 1850. She was born in Luzerne county, January 21, 1829. They have had ten children, six living: Stephen O., Luther K., Amy E., William H., Lloyd F. and Edward L. The names of the deceased are : Olin R., Ada C., Harry A. and Charles F. The first was buried in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania, and the last three in Sugar Island Cemetery, Kankakee county. Mr. Trescott was formerly an old line whig, but has voted for every republican candidate for president that has been placed in the field.

A. B. Cummings, justice of the peace, Clifton, was born in Sutton, Massachusetts, April 22, 1820, his mother dying when he was but ten months old, and his little sister aged two years. ' They were placed in the care of a relative till he was about sixteen years old, when they were both compelled to paddle their own canoe. He drifted about till 1840, when he went to Milford and remained there till 1842, going to school. Then he went to Holliston Academy, graduating in 1844. He taught school in the east and west for twenty-two years. He came west about 1854, locating in Granville, Putnam county, Illinois, where he got his first " boost " toward prosperity, teaching there in the Granville Academy for two and a half years. He went to Wenona, Marshall county, and thence to Clifton, in this township, where he has permanently resided. He went into the coal and lumber business, and continued in active business life till 1877. He was elected justice of the peace in the spring of 1870, and is still acting in that capacity. He was married on Thanksgiving day, 1847, to Miss Emily Fowler, who was born in July, 1820, in Grafton, Massachusetts. They have two children : Robert F. and Mary. One son died, Marion P.

February 20, 1813. He was brought up a farmer, as was his father before him. In 1830 he went to New York, stopping five years, as a clerk; then to Cleveland, Ohio, for three years, and back again to New York, and going into business for himself till 1854. He then came to Illinois, stopping in Chicago till 1858, and from there he came to Clifton and settled, he owning some 200 acres of land. He laid out the town in 1861, at that time there being but two houses on the east side of the railroad. The town was first settled by some ten families from the east, - first-class citizens and well-to-do, - most of whom have left for other parts. Mr. Yiets took great pride in decorating the town with shade trees, nearly all of which were planted by or through him. The beautiful little cemetery is, we understand, owned by him, and kept up at his own expense, he having made great outlay in ornamenting with trees, shrubbery, etc. The citizens a"re indebted to him to a great extent for his pride and generosity in furthering the interests and welfare of the town. He has held all the various town offices, although not very desirable positions. He was married in New York, May 17, 1836, to Miss Mary E. Pennoyer, who was born in New York city, July 21, 1816. She died in New York, March 11, 1853. September 17, 1856, he was married to Mrs. Frances N. Reeves, of Boston, in the city of Chicago. She was born in Boston, February 20, 1823. He had by first marriage : Catharine, wife of John R. Cameron, of Ottawa, Illinois ; Mary P., wife of Madison H. Ferris, of Chicago; and Charlotte. By second marriage: Helen C., born in Chicago, June 22, 1857 ; and William H., born in Clifton, November 1, 1864, and accidentally killed, March 17, 1879, by a gunshot while out hunting. He being a bright, intelligent boy, a dutiful, a loving and an only son, it was a severe and sad blow to his fond parents and doting sisters.

Jerome Bard, merchant, Chebanse, was born in Maine, June 18, 1832. His parents were William and Mehitable (Wood) Bard. Mr. Bard lived in his native town until twenty-one years old, then moved to Massachusetts, residing there some eight or ten years, and then came out west, landing in Chicago in May, 1860, and shortly afterward came to this township, where he engaged in the purchase and shipping of grain to Chicago for a year following. He then enlisted in Co. G, 25th 111. Vol., June 1, 1861, serving something over three years. He enlisted as a "high" private and was mustered out as an orderlysergeant in the city of Springfield in the month of August, 1864. He was engaged in every battle his company participated in during the war, the first being that of Pea Ridge, followed successively by the battles of Perryville, Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, and numerous skirmishes on the line of march from Chattanooga to Atlanta, some of them being very heavy engagements. Shortly after reaching Atlanta his regiment turned about-face and returned to Springfield, Illinois, where they disbanded. Returning to Chebanse he clerked for six years, excepting two years, being laid up with rheumatism, since which time he has been in business for himself, having a branch store at Cabery, Kankakee county. His partner is Francis T. McKee. Mr. Bard was married to Miss Mary E. Robinson, at Kankakee, in October, 1867, by the Rev. Mr. Whitehead. He has two living children : Bertie and Shirley ; and two deceased : Mabel L. and an infant. Mrs. Bard was born in Ohio in March, 1844. He has lived here nineteen years ; at present is a town trustee, and has always voted the republican ticket, - Abraham Lincoln being the first presidential candidate to receive his ballot.

J. N. Frooninckx, farmer, Chebanse, was born in Lubeck, Belgium, August 30, 1823. He lived at the place of his nativity until thirtythree years of age, and attended school until he was fifteen years old, and has farmed during his life. He came to America in 1856, coming direct to Iroquois county, locating on what is known as the Belgian Farm, buying his present homestead of 160 acres in 1860. He was married in the old country, March 25, 1856, to Miss Mary A. Lefevre. She died three years after coming to this country. April 2, 1866, he was married to Miss Yictoria Shanjelon ; she was born in Belgium December 22, 1835. They have four children : Mary, Joseph, Emil and Gustav. He has held the position of school director, taking great interest in matters pertaining to education. He is a member of the Catholic church.

John H. Sands, assessor, Cbfebanse, was born in Holbeach, Lincolnshire, England, March 3, 1824, and is the son of Henry and Margaret E. (Ward) Sands. Mr. Sands served an apprenticeship as a general wood-worker, and at the age of twenty came to this country, locating in New York. He lived there until 1855, and then moved to Kendall county, Illinois, farmed five years, and then moved to the township of Chebanse in 1861, where he has continued the occupation ever since, owning 120 acres, in a good state of cultivation. In 1870 and 1871 he was elected to .the position of township collector, and during the years 1876 to 1879 inclusive, held the office of assessor, which duty he has performed faithfully and well. In the fall of 1863 he entered the pioneer corps, and for eight months served in the vicinity of Chattanooga, and was discharged in July, 1864. He was married in the town of Williamsburg (now consolidated with the city of Brooklyn) September 1, 1845, to Mrs. Mary A. Smith, who was born in the town of Tydd, St. Mary, England, May 13, 1813. They have had four children, two living: William F. W., and Margaret E. W., now the wife of Peter Wright. The two deceased were : Anna M. W. and John H. W. Mrs. Sands had, by a previous marriage, two children, both living : Mrs. Anna Bagley, of Brooklyn, born in Lincolnshire, England, May 15, 1835 ; and Jane L., wife of John Jackson, of this township, born in New York city, March 28, 1840. Mr. Bagley and Mr. Jackson have been through the late war, and Mr. Jackson has been a resident of this township since 1855. Mr. Sands was captain of police of the first ward of Williamsburg, the first year it became a city. He is a member of the M. E. church ; of the Chebanse Lodge, No. 429, of which lodge he has held the office of Master for five years ; and has always been a democrat. Mr. Bagley was killed in Washington immediately after his discharge, before he reached home, by the mere wanton act of a guard on duty - a flagrant murder.

Judson D. Miner, farmer, Chebanse, was born in the town of Proviso, Cook county, Illinois, July 28, 1850. His parents were Peter and Lavina (Ackley) Miner. With his parents he moved to Wheaton, DuPage county, he being then six years of age, and lived there till June 1861, and then moved to Chebanse, leading a farmer's life. His brother (Henry A.) died in September, 1862, while serving his country in the late war. Mr. Miner was married October 8. 1878, to Miss Eva Luella Col burn, who was born in Hillsdale, Columbia county, New York, July 21, 1853. Mr. Miner has a snug farm of 80 acres under good cultivation.

Louis Henrotin, justice of the peace, Clifton, was born at St. Hubert, in the province of Luxemburg, kingdom of Belgium, July 19, 1839. He resided there till 1859, studying medicine and graduating from the University of Liege, Belgium. In 1860 he came to America and joined his uncle in Chicago, - Dr. J. F. Henrotin, then Belgian consul. In the fall of the same year he settled in Iroquois county, and returned to Belgium in the fall of 1861, and in the spring of 1862 he returned to his adopted country. It is presumed that he went on most important business, as he was married, December 26, 1861, to Miss Amelia Lambert, who was born May 9, 1838. Clifton became their abiding place. He was grain merchant from 1862 to 1868, and then went into mercantile operations till the fall of 1870, and in the same year was elected justice of the peace. In 1871 he took another trip to Europe, with his family, remaining there nearly one year, and coming back in 1872, once more settled down to business. As a coincidence we might relate that the train that pulled him and family out of Chicago on their last trip to Europe, at 5:15 Sunday evening, was the last that went out on that road before the " big fire," and when they arrived in Canada the electric news reached them of the dreadful conflagration. In connection with his office he holds the position of town collector. He has three children: Louisa, Amelia and Gustav. Edmund L. died October 10, 1879.

J. D. DeVeling, justice of the peace, Chebanse, was born in Coburg, Canada, December 23, 1829. His parents were John and Mary (Twig) DeYeling. He was raised in Canada, and at the age of twentyfour moved to Michigan, and after a two-years sojourn returned to Canada, and remained there till the winter of 1858-9. From there he went to southern Illinois. In September, 1861, he took up his abode in Sugar Island, and in the fall of 1863 came to this' village, and has ever since resided here. He was a graduate of the Eclectic College of Cincinnati, taking two courses. Prior to going to Cincinnati he studied medicine in Canada. In 1864 he opened a drug store, which he carried on, in connection with his profession, till 1875, his son then assuming control. At one time C. C. Sawyer was a partner. He was elected police justice in the summer of 1868, for four years, and reflected in 1877, and also held the office of notary public. He was married to Joana Bebee, in Canada West, in the winter of 1849-50. They are the parents of six children, four living : Mary W., John M., W. R. and Clara A. The other two died in infancy. Mr. DeVeling's parents were from Glasgow, Scotland. In connection with his general business he is engaged in the manufacture of " Deze^ng's patent no-hame wood horse-collar," of which he is the assignee of the patentee. This state is under his sole control, and he is also interested in the balance of the states. Formerly he was an independent, having published a weekly - " The Independent " - for six years, but now he is identified with the republican party.

William Hunter, retired farmer, Chebanse, was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, April 12, 1797. When two years old his parents moved to Ohio and located in what has since become Fairfield county. He farmed, worked at the cooper's and carpenter's trades, and was judge of the Lincoln county court for six years. He moved to Huntington, Indiana, where he carried on the hardware business for ten years. He came to this state in the spring of 1865, settling in Kankakee county, and in October, 1875, came to this village, living a peaceful and retired life. He has been married three times, his first wife being Miss Eliza Cisney, who died September 15, 1823 ; the second was Mary Ann Matlock, who died July 12, 1829, and he married his third wife, Miss Mary Ann Crane, March 5, 1830. They will have lived together for fifty years if they survive till March 5, 1880, their golden anniversary. His present wife was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, September 12, 1805. Mr. Hunter has been the father of twelve children, five living : Thomas C., Emily (Mrs. James Whiteside), William J., Eliza and George C. The deceased are Allen T., Caroline E., Emeline, John, Harvey, Mary E. and an infant. He has held the office of school director. He voted for Andrew Jackson, turned whig, and is now a republican ; and is a member of the Congregational church.

W. J. Hunter, jeweler and postmaster, Chebanse, was born in JEtna, Licking county, Ohio, August 5, 1842. His father is the venerable William Hunter, the oldest inhabitant in the village. At the age of twelve years he moved with his parents to Huntington, Indiana, and attended school till 1861, then enlisted in Co. F, 47th Ind. Yol. Inf. After reaching Kentucky his regiment was ordered to Bowling Green and Fort Donelson, but arrived too late to participate in their capture. Several forced marches brought his regiment to Riddle's Point, Missouri, where a siege battery was planted, and an engagement took place with some rebel gunboats, disabling three of them. At Tiptonville they intercepted the retreating forces from Island No. 10, and captured numerous prisoners. At the capture of Memphis his regiment was the first to enter that stronghold. He was also in the battles of Fort Gibson, Raymond, Champion Hill, Black River, siege of Yicksburg, Grand Canton Bayou, Fort Spanish, Fort Blakeley, and a great number of other battles, skirmishes, etc. He served his country faithfully for four years and two months, having reenlisted as a veteran, and was discharged November 3, 1865, at Indianapolis. He came to Chebanse in 1866, and clerked until he went into business for himself. He was appointed postmaster by the postmaster-general in the administration of President Grant, in June 1870, and still retains the position. He was married to Miss T. Tracey, March 5, 1871. They have two children : Addie and EfSe. Mrs. Hunter was born in Erie, Erie county, Pennsylvania, November 29, 1846.

Patrick Murphy, merchant, Chebanse, was born in the county of Kilkenny, Ireland, March 17, 1851, and is the son of James and Catherine Murphy. He emigrated to this country with his parents and settled in Hinsdale, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, in the spring of 1853, he being then but two years of age. He lived there for six years, and then removed to La Salle county, Illinois, in the spring of 1859, his father dying the same year. Mr. Murphy was reared on a farm, and continued it up to the time of his moving to this township, which was on March 16, 1867, and again went to farming until 1874, at which time he entered the employ of McKee & Bard, clerking for them for some fifteen months. He then started in the general merchandising business for himself, doing a thriving trade and carrying a full stock. He was married, by Rev. Father Gonant, of Chebanse, to Miss Bridget Clabby, May 1, 1876. They have two children : James F. and Mary L. He is a member of the town board, and is also treasurer of the Father Mathew Temperance Society. Mr. Murphy is, so to speak, a self-made man.

Thomas S. Sawyer, lawyer and editor, Chebanse, was born November 9, 1844, at Pomfret, Windham county, Connecticut. His father, Lucius E. Sawyer, was born on the same farm in 1817. His mother was a Miss Patience S. Carpenter, a native of Rhode Island. Mr. Sawyer moved with his parents to Illinois in 1856, and lived on a farm until eighteen years of age, then taught school for two years, and afterward was appointed to a clerkship in the interior department at Washington, and remained there until removed, in 1866, by Andrew Johnson for political differences. While in Washington he commenced the study of law, and pursued it after removal in the office of E. Sanford, Morris, Illinois, until June, 1867, when he was admitted to practice by the supreme court of Illinois. He was married, in the summer of 1867, to Miss Addie A. Barnes, and moved to Chebanse in the fall of 1867, where he has since resided. He has three children : Lucius Clyde, Patience Aileen and Thomas Roy, all living. Mr. Sawyer has held the office of supervisor for four years ; been member of the village trustees - last two years as president of the board ; and represented the counties of Kankakee and Iroquois in the twenty-eighth general assembly. In 1869 he commenced the publication of the Chebanse " Herald," a weekly, and has published it regularly since that time. It is a republican sheet.

John Milton Balthis, proprietor of Orchard Farm, Chebanse, was born October 5, 1827, in Putnam, Muskingum county, Ohio. His father, Major John Balthis, was from Strasburg, Shenandoah county, Yirginia, and settled on the banks of the Muskingum river, about 1812, on the present site of Putnam, Ohio, which at that time was the abode of many Indians. The name Putnam was given to the town in honor of his pioneer friend, Judge Rufus Putnam, a direct descendant of old Israel Putnam, of Wolfden notoriety. These two pioneers, together with Philip Zane, Increase Mathews, Horace Nye and Catherine Buckingham, were the proprietors of what is now one of the most beautiful and prosperous towns in Ohio, and laid a social foundation evidencing the sterling traits in their characters. Politically, John Balthis was a stanch old-line whig, and was commissioned a major of

Ohio militia by Governor Trimble, and served many years in that capacity ; was for about forty years a member of the town council of Putnam, and a stanch unflinching friend of truth and virtue, which he illustrated through a long life. To his family and friends, of him it might be

He died in 1873, seventy-six years old, and left a widow, Lenity Balthis, who was from Portland, Maine, who shared all his privations in early life, and whose charitable, kindly disposition, relieved the wants of many all through her life, and whose children drop a tear in remembering her gentle ministrations to all their wants through years of great bodily afflictions, which it was hers to bear. Her maiden name was Morton. She died in 1873, three weeks later than her husband, aged sixty-seven, and in the beautiful Woodlawn cemetery, Putnam, Ohio, a fine granite monument marks their grave, inscribed as follows :

John Milton Balthis was married May 1, 1849, to Susannah Olivia Hamilton, daughter of Rev. Samuel Hamilton, presiding elder in the Ohio conference for over forty years, as the publications of the M. E. Book Concern, of Cincinnati, show, and one of the ablest councilors and earnest, successful preachers in the conference; of sterling traits of character, whose fund of anecdote and incidents of early pioneer preacher's life are the history of the church in Ohio and Virginia. He a native of Maryland. He, at the early date spoken of, pitched his tent with his brothers in the unbroken forests of Hopewell township, Muskingum county, Ohio, ten miles of Zanesville, and dedicated their home to God in the great timber, amid a storm and all the solemnity of the wilderness around them. He lived to see prosperity all around him. Mr. Hamilton married Edith Harrison, of Harrisonburg, Virginia, daughter of Robert Harrison, a relative of General, afterward President, Harrison ; a woman of gentle graces and fine influence, lamented at death by all who knew her. Her death long preceded Mr. Hamilton, who died in 1853, aged sixty-three years, and is buried on the family homestead, near Asbury chapel, Hopewell township, Muskingum county, Ohio. Mr. Hamilton is buried in the old cemetery at Somerset,

Perry county, Ohio. Their children are: Sarah, Jane, Susan, Edith, Martha and Mary. Susannah received her education at Putnam Female Seminary, together with earlier learning in the schools of her native home township. John Milton Balthis received his schooling in the public schools of Putnam and at the Mclntire Academy of Zanesville, Ohio. At an early period his taste led him to a blacksmith, where he forged out a rude set of engraving tools, with which he engraved drawings of his own, and transfers on wood. These coming to the notice of Uriah Park, editor of the Zanesville " Gazette " (the most influential paper in central Ohio), once author of Park's arithmetic, pleased our editor, and he forthwith employed the young artist to make some diagrams for his book ; and so well was he pleased with the illustrations that he insisted on giving him letters of credit and recommendation, which stated to Messrs. Doolittle & Munson, that it introduced a young friend of irreproachable character, the phraseology of which our young artist has never forgotten, and which secured for him a desk in the office of the first bank-note and wood engravers west of the mountains and in Cincinnati. During the time in the engraving office our artist illustrated the Ladies' Repository of the M. E. Book Concern, works on natural history, and the " Twelve Months Volunteer," a " History of the War with Mexico," and a great many other engravings for various purposes, also Robinson's system of school-books. The association with artists in Cincinnati, and his free access to the Western Art Union gallery, had developed in the mind of our engraver a taste for the beautiful, in nature and art, which is always present ; and he can truly say that to him now on the farm, " a thing of beauty is a joy forever"; and the evervarying moods of natural scenery, the deep-vaulted, starry sky, and all the harmonies of nature, are sources of inexpressible joy ; hence farm life and rural scenes are where he prefers to pass his life. From Cincinnati, in 1853, he went to Cleveland, Ohio, engaging in the dry-goods business; from there to Zanesville, and thence to Oskaloosa, Iowa, where wild lands he owned demanded attention. Believing that Illinois was the best field for his enterprises he settled on a beautiful farm in Copley township, Knox county, Illinois, where he resided when the war of the rebellion broke out, and being all his life a stanch whig and republican, the fire on Sumter called every man to show his colors; and the heated discussions that followed, between loyal men and copperheads (so called), found in Mr. Balthis a warm and earnest champion for the Union cause, and so pronounced was he in his denunciations of the disloyal sentiments of those who opposed the war, that his township republicans nominated him unanimously for the office of supervisor (where supplies had to be voted for, for support of the brave soldiers' families, and earnest talk to be done to beat back disloyal utterances), and when the vote was counted on the day of election, Mr. Bal this received every loyal vote of his township. He took his seat in the board, and the records of the meetings show that not a vote of his gave aid and comfort to the enemies of his country ; the journals showing his voice raised always in defense of her integrity, and he prides himself on this record. To show the estimation in which Mr. Balthis was held during these trying times, by the loyal people of Knox county, we insert here a comment, published in the Knoxville " Gazette," a loyal and leading paper, of a convention held in the court-house at Knoxville, in defense of the union cause, of which Mr. Balthis was unanimously chosen secretary, arid J. D. Hand, president. " The unconditional Union convention, which was held at the courthouse last Saturday, to nominate candidates to be supported at the November election, was composed of ninety-three delegates, representing eighteen out of the twenty townships of the county. The delegates were men of intelligence, fully comprehending the situation of the country, and firmly determined to throw the whole influence of the county on the side of the administration in their efforts to preserve its dignity and unity, by vigorously prosecuting the war for the suppression of the rebellion. The convention was a Union convention in name, spirit and fact ; not a bastard production like that by which some of our truly loyal citizens were entrapped two years ago ; and the people of the county may implicitly rely on the assurance that its nominees, before or after the election, will not be found bearing disloyal badges, in the shape of copperhead pins, or taking part in traitorous assemblages, and siding, framing and passing infamous resolutions of resistance to the authorities in putting down rebellion. They are for the country all the time. They are union in heart and in backbone, and will default in no demand made upon them by a pure patriotism." Mr. Balthis represented his township also in the above convention and held the office of supervisor a number of years, when he resigned and went into business in Chicago. In 1867 he removed to his 320 acres of wild land near Clifton to carry out a long cherished desire to realize the " deep pleasures of the rural life," and to show himself what his indomitable perseverance has brought about. We extract from the Chicago " Tribune " the description of his farm and career, written by the Hon. M. L. Dunlap, of Champaign county : " Here is a man by trade an engraver, but as he could not brook such close confinement he left it for another business, and trusting to a few thousand dollars from savings of his labor and his business tact, he made the venture. Every plan was carefully considered ; every improvement proposed had to be subjected to figures, and every day's labor was applied to some useful end. His house is substantial and elegant ; its rooms contain an elegant piano, and another hundreds of volumes of valuable works. He kept steadily at his task, through summer's sun and winter's frost. In the field and the garden, in the hauling of building material, in the marketing of hay and corn he played the working farmer, and has carved out one of the most pleasant and comfortable homes that gladden the ' Grand Prairie.' " His artistic taste finds great enjoyment in natural scenes ; in nature's art gallery, he is pleased. We extract from a leading county paper an editorial visit to the farm : " The beautiful ' Orchard Farm ' was reached about one o'clock, and Mr. J. M. Balthis, its big-hearted proprietor, received us with as hearty a welcome as the father in scripture gave his prodigal son. In a few minutes the whole party felt perfectly at home in the elegant arid nicely furnished house. We will not make your mouth water with a description of the good things we enjoyed while there, for fear we will not do justice to the magnificent ' Orchard Farm,' its well informed proprietor, his amiable lady and their intelligent family. The place is appropriately named, and though only eight years old, its thrifty orchard of 1,000 trees is one of the finest we ever saw. The fields slope gently to the south, and the farm .presents a rich, productive appearance even such a year as this. Five hours swiftly passed, while the party also had the pleasure of examining many art specimens of Mr. Balthis, who is an artist of more than ordinary talent, and was once a skillful engraver in Cincinnati, whose associates were Sontagg, White, Grosvenor, Whiteridges, Stillman, and the artists of the ' Western Union Art Gallery.' '; Mr. Balthis is the father of six children : Althea, Yernon, Alberta, Estella, Jenny Lind, Fanny, Edith and Harry Hamilton, who was, May, 1879, appointed a cadet midshipman in United States Naval Academy, at Annapolis, Maryland, from the eighth congressional district of Illinois, by the Hon. G. L. Fort. Young Balthis passed a most creditable examination in June, 1879. In conclusion, we deem the above details of a successful life due to one of Iroquois county's most enterprising farmers, showing what well directed eifort can do, coupled with untiring industry and integrity of character, to build up a state which is formed of " substantial citizens." Erick Nelson (deceased) was born in Norway January 6, 1821. He came to America in 1839, going back in 1847, and returning again in 1848. He settled in Yorkville, Kendall county, New York, following the business of farming. In the month of February, 1868, he moved with his family to this township, locating where his family now reside, on the homestead, containing 80 acres, with a 240-acre tract on the east. He built a nice, roomy residence at the time of settling, and it is a great pity his life could not have been spared to reap the reward of his labors in the society of his interesting family. He died March 6, 1878, and was buried with Masonic honors. He was married in Christiania, Norway, February 19, 1848, to Miss Isabel Anderson, who was born October 14, 1827. He left to mourn his loss a wife and ten children : Mary, wife of Joseph Yates, deceased ; Caroline, wife of Thomas Thorston ; Sarah, wife of Lester Phelps ; Andrew ; Tina, wife of Samuel Heather ; Ella, Anna, Emma, Lyda and Charley. Jennie died, aged one year, August 30, 1864. Mr. Nelson was brought up as a Lutheran, - the laws of Norway making it obligatory on the part of parents to send their children, both male and female,- to school until a certain age, where they were compelled to receive a ministerial education.

Joseph Yates (deceased) was born in the town of Mohawk, Mont gomery county, New York, January 20, 1842. He enlisted in the army in Wisconsin, August 15, 1862, and was discharged March 26, 1863, on account of sickness, and sent home. At Chicago he was under the physician's care for seven months. He died August 10, 1879. He was married to Miss Mary Nelson May 27, 1877, who was born November 16, 1848. He leaves behind to grieve over his untimely calling off a loving wife, and one daughter, Aileen, who was born October 30, 1878.

B. J. Wakeman, nurseryman and florist, Chebanse, was born January 15, 1840, in the town of Addison, Du Page county, Illinois. He lived with his parents till nineteen years of age,, at which time he enlisted in Co. B, 33d 111. Inf., under command of Col. Hovey. He was engaged in eighteen battles, some of the principal ones being: Pea Ridge, Grand Gulf, Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hill and Black River, - all being fought in seven consecutive days. He was also at the siege of Yicksburg, capture of Mobile and numerous other engagements. He was discharged and reenlisted as a " vet" in Texas, serving in all four and a half years, and was finally discharged in the winter of 1866. Returning home he remained two years, then came to Chebanse in 1868, going into the nursery business, having an eighty-acre tract, several acres' of which are devoted to his nursery. By honorable dealings and good stock he has worked himself a fine trade, and no doubt he deserves it. He was married December 27, 1808, to Miss Etta A. Root, who was born in Albion, Orleans county, New York, August 9, 1845. They have four children: Mary A., Lena A., Grace M. and George C. Mr. Wakeman belongs to no order, except the Chebanse Silver Cornet Band.

Geo. W. Trask, Sr., farmer, Chebanse, was borne in Hampshire county, Massachusetts, April 29, 1827. His parents were Norman and Lucretia M. (Brace) Trask. He was raised on a farm, but has worked in all branches of the wool-manufacturing business, and came west September 11, 1856, stopping some three years at Princeton, Bureau county, Illinois, going from there to Grundy county, staying ten years. In 1869 he came to this county, locating on his present farm, containing 320 acres, raising corn, oats and flax. He was married July 4, 1851, to Miss Emily Bacon, who was born in Ware village, Massachusetts, November 24, 1835. Her mother, Mrs. Mercy Bacon, was born in Brimfield, Massachusetts, in 1802, and is still Hying with her daughter. Mr. Trask has been school director for nine years. He has four children: Frank H., George W., Jr., Eugene A. and Freddie.

Erastus Roadifer, liveryman, Chebanse, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, April 11, 1843. His parents were Daniel and Rhoda (Hough) Roadifer. His father was a native of Virginia, who was born in 1803, and is still hale and hearty. Mr. Erastus Roadifer resided in the county of Fairfield till 1855, when, with his parents, he moved to La Salle county, Illinois. He there followed the pursuit of farming until 1869, and then came to Chebanse, where he has since resided, carrying on the livery business, being the principal one in the place. He is a good citizen and an upright business man.

William W. Gray, farmer and stock-raiser, Chebanse, is worthy of a place in the history of Iroqupis county. He was born on the Isle of Wight, England, December 13, 1824. Isaac and Sarah (Hawkins) Gray were his parents. At the age of sixteen he emigrated to this country with father and mother, stopping in Ohio one winter, and located in Rush county, Indiana, in 1831. In 1837 he moved to Adams county, Illinois, to what is now called Coatsburg. He was brought up on a farm, and his school facilities were none of the best. When about twenty years of age he moved to New Diggings, Wisconsin, and teamed, bought and hauled lead ore for three years. While in New Diggings he married Miss Electa M. Slayton, October 24, 1847. She was born March 24, 1824, in Allegheny county, New York. In company with his wife he returned to Adams county, stopping there till 1870, when he and family moved to Chebanse township, living in the same house up till the present time, having 720 acres and good out-buildings. He and his sons are extensively engaged in the raising of Percheron Norman horses and Hereford cattle. He has held the office of road commissioner, school director and school trustee, and has been a member of the M. E. church for thirty-seven years; steward, classleader, and delegate to the annual conference held at Monmouth in

1879. In politics he is a republican. He has been the father of eleven children, eight living: Isaac N. ; Sarah M., wife of P. S. De Witt, of Will county ; Anna C., wife of Alonzo Hammond, of Kankakee county ; George H., Alice L., William W., Owen L. and Ira L. ; the deceased were : Charles W., William H. and John L.